27th April, Year 41970 of the Elemental Era
Luyang City, Northern Continent
The main court of the Judiciary is situated in Luyang City.
Jin Huang visited the Judiciary today to take charge.
Lan Fang had also arrived a day earlier to handle various files before Jin Huang took charge.
Jin Huang sat at the main seat and glanced at everyone. As a princess with royal blood, her status was the highest among the people present here.
She smiled and said calmly, "Lan Fang, stay. Everyone else, leave."
All the officials and inspectors departed quietly.
Jin Huang slowly stood up. "Since when?"
Lan Fang shot her a bewildered look. "Pardon?"
Jin Huang slowly approached Lan Fang, but her every step was accompanied by a menacing aura. She released Bow Heart, Sword Heart, and Spear Heart at the same time.
Though Jin Huang was barely 4 feet tall and Lan Fang loomed over her at over 6 feet, the moment felt like a lion sizing up an elephant, with the gaze of a hunter eyeing its prey.
Jin Huang said coldly, "Since when did you start collaborating with the Demons?"
Lan Fang was sweating inwardly, but he dared not show it on the surface. He recalled how he had already removed all the traces, and he immediately regained some confidence. "13th Princess, you can't frame me without evidence!"
Jin Huang smiled coldly. "Don't be so overconfident about your measly efforts. I don't care about the trash you're trying to hide. Crown Prince Jin Wei is already under investigation by His Majesty. He has exposed himself and is detained right now. I am only giving you a chance—a chance to redeem yourself. Otherwise, you and your entire family will be executed within a week."
Jin Huang gave him a deep smile. "Do you think your secret meetings with Crown Prince Jin Wei can't be exposed? Why? Do you think your scheme of poisoning a royal prince can be buried forever?"
As she spoke, her words grew louder, showing the majesty of a supreme one!
Lan Fang dared not meet her eyes anymore. He felt as if his whole body and soul were exposed in front of her. There were no secrets left anymore.
Flashback, 1 day ago
After leaving the court, Jin Huang was invited by Jin Wei for a private chat.
Jin Huang came to his residence and met him.
She bowed. "I have met the Elder Brother."
Jin Wei nodded at her and asked calmly, "You really surprised me."
Jin Huang nodded and said politely. "It's all due to the blessings of elder brother!"
Jin Wei's eyes glinted with quiet amusement. "Such smooth praise," he said. "If you keep flattering me like this, I might forget to be humble."
Jin Huang smiled and said nothing.
Jin Wei asked her about Jin Long and her mother's well-being, and then finally came to the main topic.
He asked slowly, "I remember you mentioned to His Majesty about his suspicion being true. What was that about? Don't tell me what you mentioned in the court. I can tell you were trying to hide something."
Jin Huang nodded. "As expected from Elder Brother."
She said slowly, "In fact, Father already had the idea of appointing me as Prime Advisor. He tasked me to investigate those demonic incidents. In one of those incidents, I found it was connected to Lan Fang. Father already had some suspicion about him, since the investigation was too lax on those demonic incidences."
Jin Huang had deliberately spoken in court about Jin Haoran's suspicions. She could have said it privately—but how else could she bait Jin Wei?
Jin Wei accepted the bait and fell for the trap. As soon as Jin Huang revealed Lan Fang's exposure, Jin Wei would immediately try to remove all connections between himself and Lan Fang. He would discard Lan Fang right away to protect himself.
Jin Huang had no intention of targeting Jin Wei, as it would cause public outcry since Jin Wei is the Crown Prince of the entire kingdom. It would also bring harm to the Jin family's reputation.
She also knew Lan Fang wouldn't give any information on Jin Wei. With such a big incident, there was no way Jin Wei wouldn't have any backup plans. He might target Lan Fang's family in case he leaked any information about him.
Then what was her intention?
She was mainly trying to eliminate Lan Fang's background before convicting him. If she didn't do that, she would face immense resistance from the other side.
Once Lan Fang was eliminated, the entire Judiciary would be at her disposal. At the same time, she would establish firm authority as the Prime Advisor!
Her influence would readily increase, and she could eliminate all those demons easily as well, while solidifying her position in the court as well as in the people's hearts!
Flashback over
Lan Fang glared at Jin Huang deeply. Even though he was afraid, he refused to admit it.
Jin Huang also couldn't do anything about it, since there was no hard evidence right now. She smiled, "I will give you 1 hour."
In fact, this was an excuse. What she wanted to do was let Lan Fang communicate with Crown Prince Jin Wei himself. If he failed to contact him, it would prove her words. At the same time, he would finally give up and willingly confess his crimes. It might reduce the penalty, and maybe his family could be saved.
Her maid was puzzled. "Miss, why did you let him leave?"
Jin Huang looked at the leaving figured and said with a hint of mockery. "I gave him time to fear, I gave him space to fail, and once he comes back..." She paused as her gaze deepened. "I will give him a rope to hang himself."
1 hour later
Lan Fang came back and met Jin Huang.
Even though he was looking down at the little girl to see her face, he felt he was looking up at a huge mountain whose peak was not visible.
He knelt down. "Thirteenth Princess, can you protect my family? They have nothing to do with this. It was all my doing!"
The crime he committed was on the same level as rebellion. By punishment, his entire family should be executed!
Jin Huang elegantly lifted the cup and tasted the last sip of the tea.
She smiled. "Don't worry, no one will ever suspect your ties to the Demons. Your execution will be quiet, staged to look like an accident."
She had a deeper reason for doing this.
If it were publicized that the head of the Judiciary was involved with such a crime, people's belief in the Judiciary would be immensely reduced. Even if they continued to follow the Judiciary and laws, it would be more due to fear rather than genuine trust.
Jin Huang didn't want to see this, and thus she chose to silently eliminate him.
She glanced at the maid near her and said calmly, "Give him the paper."
Lan Fang understood her actions. He stretched out his hand and took the blank paper. The paper was generally weightless, but at that moment, he felt it had infinite mass.
He took a pen and wrote his confession on the paper. At the end, he pressed his thumb onto the ink pad and left a clear print. He also added his own unique Spiritual Essence mark on it.
He said slowly, "I hope Your Highness won't involve my family in this."
Jin Huang smiled. "As long as you provide valuable information."
Lan Fang believed Jin Wei was captured, but all the information he provided was deliberately filtered to exclude Jin Wei's involvement. He believed, even if Jin Wei was a fallen prince, he was still the Crown Prince. He wouldn't be convicted so easily. Even if Jin Huang knew so much, as long as there was no evidence, Jin Wei couldn't be harmed. He was still afraid of Jin Wei and had no interest in bringing disaster to his family.
Jin Huang also expected this much.
She was looking for information regarding those demons.
She glanced in one of the directions and said slowly, "Come out."
A middle-aged man in his sixties came out. He was a Rank 4 Warrior, ordered to protect Jin Huang's safety.
Jin Huang instructed him, "Take care of him. Make sure to create a 'genuine accident'."
The middle-aged man frowned.
Jin Huang smiled softly. "Don't worry. I am residing in the Judiciary. Are you still afraid someone will attack me?"
The middle-aged man hesitated before speaking, "To make it look like a genuine accident, I have to prepare a lot of things. It might take 10–12 hours."
It's not that he couldn't create an 'accident' faster. But what Jin Huang was asking for was an accident in front of the public, while making sure it appeared genuine.
Creating this kind of accident needed prior preparation. Leaving her unprotected for 1–2 hours was reasonable, but 10–12 hours was quite exaggerated, and if something were to happen to her, he couldn't avoid the consequences.
Jin Huang smiled. "I assure you, I won't leave this room till you come back."
The middle-aged man sighed and finally nodded.
However, as soon as he left, Jin Huang glanced at her maid and said calmly, "Let's exchange our clothes."
Maid: ???
"Miss? You can't!"
She instantly guessed her thoughts and also realized why she had sent away her protector.
Jin Huang smiled faintly. "It's an order!"
Her maid frowned, but she had no other choice. She exchanged her clothes and pretended to be the princess in Jin Huang's place.
Jin Huang took out a small box and opened its lid.
Two small bees appeared in front of her maid.
She took out a paper and gave it to her, while instructing, "This paper contains my order. It will serve as evidence and your credibility. If there is no information from my side till my protector comes back, take 100 men from the Judiciary and use this bee to find me."
It was a tracking bee, known as a Couple Bee, often used by investigative officers. It came in a pair. Jin Huang would carry one of the bees, while her maid had the other. It had to be noted that each bee was capable of sensing the other one, even if the other one died.
Jin Huang silently left the palace.
She glanced in a certain direction and murmured inwardly, 'Since Jin Wei is involved, he would likely take precautions and send those demons away. He should be aware that once Lan Fang is exposed, all secrets related to the demons known to him might be exposed as well. However, it is impossible for all those demons to leave this place within one day.'